Along with the whole Nation, North-East India Celebrates ‘Festival of Lights’ Diwali.

The Diwali celebrations are marked by offering puja to Lakshmi – Goddess of wealth and prosperity, colourful decoration, rows and formations of lit up earthen lamps,lots of sweets and mouth-watering cuisines followed by exchanging of gifts between family members and close friends..

The festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and hope over despair.

This year, individuals and groups are celebrating the festival of lights in a different way.

From children to youth, most are saying no to crackers and enjoying an eco-friendly Diwali.

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Gogoi kicks off Clean Assam campaign

GUWAHATI, Oct 5 – Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today wielded the broom to launch an extensive ‘Clean Assam’ campaign in Guwahati city and announced that the Government would constitute a Green Brigade and permanent committees to keep the localities neat and clean. Awards will be given for cleanliness drives.

Leading the campaign from the front to give it the necessary backing, motivation and impetus, Chief Minister Gogoi said that the Government would take up the cleanliness drive on a mission mode across the nook and corner of the State. “We launched the Clean Guwahati Campaign in February, 2012 in front of Cotton College, Jail Road, Manipuri Basti and other places. However, the campaign did not continue for long. But this time, the cleanliness drive will be a continuous process in Guwahati and other parts of the State,” he said at Ganeshguri Chariali, where he formally kicked off the campaign, said an official release.

The Chief Minister, while appealing to the citizens to keep the city clean and green, said that cleanliness was next to godliness and this was what the sages and prophets of all the religions of the world have taught their adherents. “As we take proper care of our body and wear clean clothes, so also we must keep our surroundings clean to keep diseases at bay,” he said.

Appreciating the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gogoi said, “We support any good cause and our Government with the help of public organisations, NGOs, puja mandaps and individuals would make an all-out endeavour to make Assam clean and green,” he said adding that the campaign would begin in all educational institutions, government offices and public institutions in a phased manner. Indeed, the chief minister had begun his innings on a right note by directing all ministers, MLAs, deputy commissioners and senior officials of concerned departments to free the puja mandaps and environment of junk and dirt.

The chief minister then proceeded to Latasil playground where he was joined by various NGOs, public organisations and prominent citizens. Gogoi emphasised on the need to keep the drains of Guwahati city clean to ensure smooth flow of water. “One of the reasons for Guwahati flood was due to clogging of drains. If we keep the drains free from garbage and filth, it will help to mitigate the problem to a great extent,” he said, while wielding a broom and sweeping the playground.

The chief minister handed over the keys of garbage disposal vehicles to NGOs for various wards under the Guwahati Municipal Corporation.

Gogoi then headed towards Fancy Bazar riverfront where he announced the setting up of a Green Brigade and permanent committees to keep the various localities clean. “We will constitute a Green Brigade and permanent committees to keep the localities neat and clean. Awards will be given for cleanliness drives,” he added.

Lauding the cleanliness drive by different puja mandaps across the State, Gogoi said, “It’s augurs well that the puja samitis have responded to my appeal to keep the puja mandaps and surroundings clean. If we all come forward and join hands together, the day is not far off when Guwahati, the gateway to the North-east, and other parts of the State would become neat and clean.”

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Best Environmental-Friendly Durga Puja Award

GUWAHATI – The Eco-tourism Society of North East is going to conduct the fifth Prakriti Award 2014 (the best environment-friendly Durga Puja of Guwahati) to generate awareness about preservation of the environment and tourism resources of the region.

The contest is spanned across five phases starting from registration, pre, ongoing and post Puja surveys and finally the award distribution.

It needs to be mentioned that the organisers collect data on the history, theme, uniqueness and various measures that the Durga Puja committees take to minimise the negative impacts on the environment. The NGO also encourages and motivates the puja committees to have eco- friendly idols and to design their pandals on themes related to tourism and environment.

Puja committees having proper arrangements related to clean drinking water, dustbins, fire extinguishers, trained volunteers for managing traffic, etc., get added advantage during the competition. The Award ensures that all puja committees maintain proper guidelines regarding cleanliness and hygiene.

“However, this season we have decided to enrol only those Puja committees matching all the criteria for the competition. Emphasis will not only be on eco-friendly idols but will also be on eco-friendly surroundings, decorations, and pandals,” said an official of the NGO.

Last year Maligaon Kalibari Durgotsav Samity won the prestigious title.

Phase one of the competition had registrations of Durga Puja Committees. Registration was free for all the puja committees till September 25.

Phase two was ‘Pre Durga Puja Survey’ from September 27 to 29 wherein nine Durga Puja committees were shortlisted as finalists for the award.

Phase three will include ‘Ongoing Durga Puja Survey’ from September 30 to October 3. This phase will be the most crucial phase for the entire competition. An expert team will judge the puja committees based on environment-related parameters.

Phase four will have post Puja survey from October 5 to 21 wherein the post Puja activities of the Puja committees like immersion of idols, removal of the pandals etc., will be monitored.

The award will be presented on October 23.

Source: The Assam Tribune

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Plea to make Puja Pandals Tobacco-Free

GUWAHATI – In a joint and unanimous effort to ensure a tobacco-free Durga puja in Guwahati, leading organisations and government agencies such as Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, State Tobacco Control Cell (STCC), Voluntary Health Association of Assam (VHAA), Pothik, etc., have appealed to the district administration as well as the Puja committees to make all puja pandals in the city tobacco free.

A 70-foot high and 60-foot wide tree depicting Goddess Durga, based on the theme ‘SaveRhino’, at the Bishnupur Sarbajanin Durga Puja pandal, in Guwahati on Sunday. – UB Photos

In a joint meeting organised at the BBCI campus, it was decided that a group comprising representatives of BBCI, VHAA and STCC would soon meet the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro) to seek his support in making the four-day Durga puja celebrations in the city tobacco free.

During the meeting, Dr AC Kataki, Director, BBCI, said, “It is alarming to note that Assam has one of the highest prevalence of tobacco-related cancers. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey carried out in 2010, 52.6 per cent of the male and 25.3 per cent of the female population in Assam use tobacco in some form or the other. Making all the puja pandals in the city tobacco-free zones will ensure that people visiting the pandals will not be exposed to second-hand smoke from cigarettes or bidis. Moreover, consumption of smokeless tobacco products like pan masala or gutkha will also be prohibited as per provisions of the COTPA.”

The appeal has been made to sensitize the public about the harmful effects of tobacco on health and for implementation of various provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA).

“This has become necessary considering rising incidence of tobacco-related diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases and stroke in the State,” Dr Kataki said.

Dr Arundhati Deka, State Nodal officer for Tobacco Control and Pratul Chandra Phukan, retd DIG of Police and team leader for Tobacco Control (VHAA), both categorised the puja pandals as public places and stated that under Section 4 of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, smoking in all public places was strictly prohibited.

According to Section 4 of COTPA, ‘Public Place’ is defined as any place to which the public has access whether as of right or not and includes all places visited by general public.

Besides banning smoking in public, Section 4 of COTPA also mandates that display of ‘No Smoking’ signage according to the mandatory specification (60cm x 30cm) should be prominently displayed at both entry and exit points of all public places.

Strict compliance of Section 4 of COTPA during the puja festivity would not only help bring in awareness against public smoking but also protect people from the menace of second hand smoke.

The joint team of BBCI, VHAA and STCC and other civil society members were optimistic that the district administration as well as the Puja committees would take all the necessary steps to ensure that all puja pandals are tobacco-free zones.

Source: The Assam Tribune

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